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cathielu

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Everything posted by cathielu

  1. If anyone has improvement with this propping up therapy, please let me know. Love, Catherine
  2. After I improved with the propping up sequence over six weeks, I moved on to the next phase of orthostatic training. Standing up a few minutes at a time, according to comfort level, stimulated my the blood vessels to strengthen themselves, and improvement could be seen each week. Building up to a total of two hours standing per day was the key to my recovery. When I was able to eventually stand for two hours at a time without any circulatory symptoms, I was convinced that I was healed, and I was able to move on with my goals of education and career. The entire recovery period took me 7 months, including the six weeks of propping up and the 5.5 months of the standing therapy. If I had it to do again, I could probably do the standing portion in a much shorter time frame. I kept getting infections and it slowed my progress, and I didn't know how to carry out the orthostatic training program. My feet had to get used to the increased heel pressure. I had some athletic shoes with gel heel cushions that were very helful. Love, Catherine
  3. There were some times when my legs swelled up and I had to wear the "medium" stockings instead of the "firm" ones. It took a few days for the leg swelling to go down if I was wearing the "medium" ones. That's why it worked better to wear them all the time, and not let the swelling set in. When I was doing the propping up, it helped to have both a bed and a recliner propped up at the right angles, so I could change positions/rooms occasionally. I measured the difference in height between my feet and the top of my head, and had both set to the same height difference. After I recovered my circulation, I was able to improve through strength training, aerobic exercise, and cardio intervals. Over time, my strength and energy have improved a lot, much more than I had hoped. I am so grateful and relieved. Love, Catherine
  4. The path to recoery is a very narrow road. When I was in the propping up process, I could only increase the tilt at the most 2 inches every four days. If I increased it even a couple of inches too far too soon, I would have so much adrenaline pumping into my bloodstream that I couldn't sleep all night and had to lower the bed back down a couple of inches. Propping up my bed caused me to have swelling in my legs and feet, so I had to wear "firm" support hose for 24 hours a day until I finished the proppng up/walking/standing therapy months later.
  5. After I propped up over a period of weeks, I eventually started walking for a few minutes at a time. I measured how many minutes I could comfortably walk at a time, and gradually increased it over time. Eventually I was able to stand, following the same pattern of measuring how many minutes I could comfortably stand at a time. I gradually increased that over time too. Love, Catherine
  6. Either all at once or spread out is fine. If I go to a social event, I stand most of the time, which works out well. Love, Catherine
  7. Thank you. : ) If even one person gets better with my regimen, I will be happy. Love, Catherine
  8. I am not going to be able to be a physical therapist because of my back problems. They are required to lift patients, and I can't do that. I might do some teaching or personal training. I am still going to prepare to teach the scriptures, and I would like to tutor in math and science. Love, Catherine
  9. I had very bad chest pain and fatigue when standing or sitting. I had to be lying down for many years. I had two very bad tilt table tests. The second one was a pacemaker test. It was a terrible mistake, because my problem was my blood vessels, not my heart. I almost died during that test. My suffering was so severe that I lost hope and did not try to fight the illness again for five more years. I was very sad. I am so grateful for my recovery. I have been healed from orthostatic hypotension for 2.5 years now. : ) I am taking finals this week at college. Three down, one to go! I am also starting a job as an online math tutor next week. Love, Catherine
  10. I could have been healed almost two decade earlier if I had been given a program to strengthen my blood vessels. I am glad for my new life. I am planning to go on for a marriage, becoming a scripture teacher, and earning a doctorate in physical therapy. Love, Catherine
  11. Thank you. When I was propping up my bed, I pushed the foot of the bed against the wall, and put pillows on the wall under my feet. I am so very happy that I got better! I am enjoying school very much. I am learning a lot of interesting things. Time goes by really fast. Love, Catherine
  12. Yes, I did go on a mission to share the gospel of Christ. My back problems and gluten intolerance caused me to come back early from the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. But I learned a lot and met many loving people there. It was wonderful. I have been sharing the gospel with friends since then.
  13. Hello! The medicines to raise blood pressure only worked for a short time, so they weren't reliable. I wore firm support hose up to the waist 24 hours a day during my recovery phase (except when exercising or bathing), until I was eventually able to stand up for two hours a day. Then I was able to sleep with my bed horizontal again, and not wear support hose. I have kept up with two hours a day of standing. Love, Catherine
  14. I suffered severely, and was not understood or helped by my doctors. After 12 years of disability, I almost died during two tilt table tests. I don't agree with the way doctors and nurses treat people with orthostatic hypotension. Nobody ever explained a realistic way to recover. I lost hope for my recovery after suffering severely in two tilt table tests. It took another five years before I tried to battle back again. This time I succeeded. I am grateful for getting my life back. My back problems are bad though. But hopefully they'll get better too, with my physical therapy. Thank you everyone for your support. Love, Catherine
  15. Thank you. Yes, I propped up my bed higher and higher with bricks and cinder blocks. My orthostatic hypotension started after I was in bed for several months with anemia, stomach pain, and a back injury. Love, Catherine
  16. Hello. I don't take any medicines. I have to make sure that I stand up two hours a day to keep my blood vessels strong. I am a senior. I will graduate in May. :^) I don't have any restrictions because of circulation anymore. I still have some back problems and gluten intolerance though. But I am very grateful for my improvement. I live in my parents' house while I am in college. I don't have any more suffering after being up like before. Yay! Love, Catherine
  17. My orthostatic hypotension was so severe that I was partially or fully bedridden for many years. I found during my recovery process of propping up my bed that continual improvement came when I propped up enough for my resting heart rate to remain at 84-90 bpm, 24 hours a day. Within two weeks I was able to sit up long enough to use a toilet, and within four more weeks, I could sit up all day. Our vital signs should always be kept within healthy limits, including a resting heart rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute and systolic blood pressure at least 90 mm Hg. I was able to prop up my bed and my chair two inches more every four days. Eventually I was able to start walking, then eventually standing still for longer periods of time. Now I am back in college. I am very grateful for my recovery. Love, Catherine
  18. The reason I take this condition and its toll and dangers so seriously is because full awareness of the problem is the first step toward recovery. Every effort and change I have gone through during my recovery physical therapy has been worth it. Love, Catherine
  19. The propping up, then eventually sitting, then eventually standing were the treatment to strengthen my blood vessels and restore normal circulation. The running didn't directly treat my circulatory problem. That and the walking, bicycling, etcetera, are to regain my aerobic fitness, muscle tone, muscle endurance, and maintain a healthy weight. Everybody's body is different. Men tend to naturally have more muscle mass than women, even without exercising. I think that may also go for blood vessel tone. Maybe that is why almost all the patients with orthostatic intolerance are women. We may just have to put more focus on strengthening and maintaining our blood vessels. There are people who have suddenly died from cardiac arrest who have orthostatic hypotension. This condition may or may not be life-threatening, but it can certainly be life-stifling and life-ruining. Love, Catherine
  20. By life-threatening I mean that blood pressure and heart rate fluctuations weaken the body and leave it open to dangers like infections, falling and getting a concussion, getting into car accidents, etc. Anything that triggers fluctuations becomes dangerous, like standing, exercising, eating, being in the heat, or stressful situations. Also, having a vulnerable state in a world where there are many untrustworthy people is dangerous. I have had several dates think that my fatigue and lying down is some sort of invitation and they try to take advantage of me. My life and relationships are so much better now. Love, Catherine
  21. By my circulation failing when I was jogging means that I felt faint and knew that I needed to lie right down. Love, Catherine
  22. Hello! Yes, I am working in Arizona. I have been in training this week. People's homes are air conditioned here. I don't have the precarious symptoms when I get hot anymore - except for the usual symptoms that the average person has after hours of extreme heat. When I started battling back, I was able to jog for two minutes at a time before my circulation was failing. Now I can go for longer since I have strengthened my blood vessels. I would not go with the doctor's instructions to stand until you faint. I would stand until either my blood pressure was down to 90 for the systolic, or until my heart rate was up to 100, or if I was getting nauseated, had chest pain, or was having foot pain. I carefully measured the time and knew how long I could safely do it, and kept to that schedule, starting with several times a day. I still make sure that I am standing for three hours a day now, or else my symptoms start coming back within a few days or weeks. There is a window in propping up or standing up, where your body is constantly sending more signals to the muscles in the blood vessels to tighten up. Over days and weeks, that causes the muscles to increase in size and strength, enabling the blood vessels to maintain blood pressure more and more, reducing symptoms more and more. Be very careful, and be faithful and hopeful. The blessings are worth all of the effort. Love, Catherine
  23. Hello! My driver's license was reinstated this week. Yay! I applied for a job making home visits, teaching children with developmental disabilities. I can set my own hours. I am going to start at 2 to 4 hours per day. It is a real blessing to drive again. Love, Catherine
  24. Dear Goldicedance and others, Thank you for your positive comments! It is very hard work to build up my strength and energy again, especially without the understanding of my doctors of what all I have been going through, and having to arrange my therapy myself. I am still running one mile a few days a week. I want to be stronger and more energetic than ever before. Love, Catherine
  25. Dear Persephone, Thanks for asking. I have been asking Heavenly Father these serious questions, and I am grateful to have Him help me recover and understand what has been happening. A resting heart rate of 100 was the first sign that my circulation was faltering, so I knew that I was propped up too far too soon. When my resting heart rate was 100 then I was having severe fatigue and chest pain. I really did have two near-death experiences on the tilt table, with my systolic blood pressure quickly dropping into the 40s and my heart rate speeding up, then slowing into the 40s because it was not receiving adequate blood supply to function normally. That was a terrible experience. Love, Catherine
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